Supersonic air travel may be making a comeback, thanks to the work of companies like Boom. We visited Boom's hangar in Mojave, California, to learn about what it would take to revive the dream of high-speed intercontinental air travel, more than 20 years after the retirement of Concorde supersonic jetliner.
At the time of writing, Boom Supersonic's XB-1 demonstrator aircraft has flown 11 test flights, achieving a top speed of Mach 0.95. Mach 1 is the speed of sound — about 767 mph at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl said it would go supersonic “somewhere around flight 12.”
Boom Supersonic says its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft is getting ready to break the sound barrier.
Behind the controls for these flights is Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Gepetto” Brandenburg, who tells me that from inside the aircraft, going supersonic is “really kind of anticlimactic.” Aside from a subtle change in the feel of the controls, the only way he would know this happened was by monitoring his speed indicator.
Brandenburg showed his view from the cockpit inside the XB-1 flight simulator.
The infamous sonic boom, after which the company and the XB-1 “Baby Boom” aircraft are named, is primarily something people experience outside of the aircraft. To minimize disruption to anyone living and working in Boom's flight path, the company said it plans to fly its passenger aircraft at supersonic speeds over the ocean, and it will fly below the speed of sound when on the ground . That's still faster than the cruising speed of traditional jetliners, however, which is about 550 to 600 mph.
Boom said it is also keeping an eye on NASA's progress low-boom supersonic technology and that may be incorporated into future aircraft designs.
Shortly after the supersonic, Boom's XB-1 demonstrator aircraft will be retired and the focus will shift to the development of the miniature passenger aircraft Overture.
The XB-1 flight test program paves the way for the Overture, Boom's passenger aircraft, which can run on both traditional aviation fuels as well as newer ones. sustainable aviation fuel.
The company aims to carry its first passengers in about five years. It has completed construction on a “superfactory” that will produce 33 Overture aircraft a year to start, with plans to expand. United, American and Japan Airlines already have preorders.
Boom completed construction of its Overture Superfactory in North Carolina in June of last year.
While ticket pricing will ultimately be set by the various airlines, passengers can expect to pay a slight premium for the faster trip, especially “on the first day, when there are more passengers than plane,” Scholl said. “But our goal is to get [prices] down over time.”
To see our full visit to the Boom Supersonic, as well as my attempt to pilot the XB-1 flight simulator, check out the video in this article.
